For a supposedly time-saving 3D modeling tool, this handy little MakeHuman app for creating shirts, dresses, skirts, pants etc. in Blender can be a $#@! to operate correctly. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this blog post.) Anyway, here’s the workflow I sorted out, in the hopes that a no-frills tutorial might save folks several hours of experimentation. Good luck and great modeling!

Step 1: Set up MakeClothes

Open Blender

Press N then select MakeClothes

Select body Type

Press Load Human Mesh (which is automatically given the name Human)

(don’t alter pivot point or small square at bottom of mesh)

Step 2: Prep your material

Go to Edit mode

Go to Material Properties Window

Select the material for any body or clothing part that is getting in the way of your modeling

Press S to scale down that part

Deselect that material

Step 3: Create your clothing mesh

Select the material for the part that you want to use to create an article of clothing

Press SHIFT+D to create a duplicate part (which is automatically given the name Human.001)

Right Click to set in in place

Press P then separate by selection

Go to Object mode

Select Human then move it to a different layer

Select Human.001

In N / Item rename it to identify it as a piece of clothing (for the purposes of this tutorial we’ll call it “New Shirt”)

In N / MakeClothes change the Mesh Type to Clothing

Step 4: Create your mannequin

Select Human

Go to Edit mode

Go to Material Properties Window

Select the Body material

Press SHIFT+D to create a duplicate body (which is automatically given the name Human.001)

Right Click to set in in place

Press P then separate by selection

Move it to a new layer

In N / Item rename it as “Mannequin”

Select both New Shirt and Mannequin layers

Step 5: Model your clothing

Select New Shirt

Go to Edit mode (if not there already)

Model the clothing until it looks the way you want it to (and delete or fix any non-quad faces, because MakeClothes only uses quads)

Go to Material Properties Window

Create new material slot and new material and name is New Shirt

Assign New Shirt mesh to New Shirt material

Delete all other material slots (for the New Shirt mesh only; leave meshes for other meshes intact)

Step 6: Unwrap your clothing

Select various edges of the model, such as down the middle of the back or along the top of the arms to the neck, to create seams

Select Mesh / Edges / Mark Seam

Go to Object Data / UV Maps

Create new window for UV Image Editor

Press U / Unwrap

Press UVs / Export UV Layout to save it as an image (in case want to work on it in GIMP etc.)

Step 7: Create vertex groups

Go to Object Mode

Select New Shirt

Go to Object Data / Vertex Groups

In N / MakeClothes, press Create Vertex Groups (the Delete vertex group will then disappear)

Step 8: Generate your new piece of clothing

Go into Object Mode (if not there already)

Select Mannequin then delete it (because it’s no longer needed for this article of clothing)

Select Human

SHIFT + select New Shirt

In N / MakeClothes, press Make Clothes

Wait. Grab some coffee. Go for a walk. Make love. Swim in the sea.

When complete, an “OK” dialogue box will appear.

(Any error or warning messages may or may not mean anything, so try out your new clothing anyway.)

Now that you’re an expert (or at least on the way), it’s time to set the world on fire! I’m a freelance consultant specializing in small-business marketing and content, with a love for entrepreneurial projects. If you have a new business or career that needs a jump-start, contact me and we’ll talk shop. My fees are reasonable and the first consultation is always free. — David Arv Bragi